


Batting Cages

by littlealex



Category: Arashi (Band), Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: Angst, M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-22
Updated: 2009-07-22
Packaged: 2017-10-12 07:19:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/122320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlealex/pseuds/littlealex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It starts with batting cages and ends with a fruit platter. In between, Nino is emo and Ohno steals something from him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Batting Cages

He's closed his eyes, fingers gripped tightly around the padded handle of the baseball bat as he holds it over his shoulder, listening to the _click-clack-thunk_ ing of the ball machine as it prepares a pitch for him. He flexes his fingers, breathes deeply so that the smell of wood and leather sticks in his nose, and waits until the mood twists, until the cool air snaps around him and he feels the change in the hairs on his arms. Then he opens his eyes, a split second before the ball comes shooting from the mechanical arm straight towards him. He doesn't blink, just winds the bat back before letting the power of his biceps swing the bat square on with the ball. The connection makes a satisfying crack in the cool twilight air, and the reverberations ripple through his fingertips first, then through his arms, causing a shiver to run down his spine as the ball runs down the netting at the back of the batting cage.

Dimly, Nino is aware that someone is yelling at him, but it takes him a moment to return to the present. He's been staring at the dark cannon of the ball machine so long he doesn't remember it turning from daylight to twilight, and so far nobody has disturbed his focus. So it takes the person calling his name a few more times before he rests the end of the bat on his foot as his brain switches over, his mind abandoning the game but leaving his shoulder to get hit by a fastball. The impact knocks the rest of his senses into the present and he drops his bat, grabbing his arm and suddenly everything is moving and noisy again, bright ribbons of color flashing behind his eyelids just like the tendrils of pain that course through his shoulder.

Before his vision clears, the ball machine stops its whirring and whoever called out to him wraps a warm arm around him, picks up his bat and removes his helmet, guiding him out of the cage and onto the bleachers. It's not where he wants to be, and he opens his mouth to protest, but he knows whose arms have settled around his back before he looks up and the wind is taken out of his sails. He can't be angry at Aiba.

He can, however, pretend to be annoyed, and he lets out a whine through his nose as he presses closer into the embrace, his own fingers wrapped around his wounded shoulder. Aiba responds by babbling on about how he's sorry and didn't mean to disturb him and _are you okay, Nino? Really?_ and he'll buy an ice cream to make up for it. Nino isn't really sure that an ice cream can make up for getting hit in the shoulder with a baseball going hundred miles per hour, but he doesn't say anything.

"Aiba, what are you doing here?" Nino asks in a lull from the monologue Aiba seems intent on delivering, pulling away now that his shoulder doesn't sting quite so much (it's settling in for a dull ache and he can practically feel where the bruise will be tomorrow). Aiba looks sheepish, as though he's been caught doing something he shouldn't, and it only makes Nino more suspicious. He thins his eyes, trying to peer behind the cautious smile on Aiba's face. "Tell me the truth," he says before Aiba can divert him with another monologue.

"We were worried," Aiba says simply, as though that is all the explanation necessary. According to Nino, however, it's nowhere near an explanation, so he just raises his eyebrows expectantly, folding his arms across his chest even though it sort of hurts his shoulder to do so. It's not that Nino doesn't believe his band mates are concerned about him, but he wants to know why.

Or, rather, he wants to hear Aiba say it.

Aiba squirms under Nino's gaze and folds his hands between his knees. "Well, you went home so quickly today that you left your magazine behind. We thought it might have upset you. Everyone else decided to leave you alone, but I thought you might want to go out to have a drink, maybe to talk about it or ignore it, whichever one. So, I looked in a few places but then I remembered how many times you came here when I was in hospital and so I thought maybe it's that serious, so I came here, just in case."

The words tumble out of Aiba's mouth as though they're all one sentence - rushed, hurried, concerned about what the result might be. The verbal equivalent of ripping off a Band-Aid, and Nino smiles at Aiba's obvious concern for a second before he realizes what the words actually mean. He shifts away from Aiba even more, leaving a neat foot-wide space between them on the bleachers, and his hand moves subconsciously back to the dull ache in his shoulder. He doesn't say anything for a moment, just stares at Aiba's hands fiddling in his lap as he runs through the day thus far in his mind.

The magazine had just been lying there on the table in the dressing room, so it wasn't really Nino's. Under normal circumstances, Nino would have passed over the printed word in favor of his DS, but he had let the battery run too low so it had died just moments after sitting down to play with it. The magazine had been a last resort, and he'd flipped through it, wondering who was buying idol magazines and leaving them around the dressing room. It hadn't taken long for him to find the article with Ohno, the cross-talk with a particular little twerp of a kouhai, and he'd glued himself to every word.

It was a little possessive, and possibly a little stalker-like, but Nino couldn't help the way he felt. The article was stupid, and contrived, and ridiculous, but knowledge of that didn't ameliorate the situation. Nino had read the article in excruciating detail, reading the same words over and over again in case he missed something, and with each character he felt as though a little needle had been pushed into the pincushion of his heart. A little melodramatic, perhaps, but he isn't used to having to _share_ Leader, and with every little _(laughs)_ , it felt as though Ohno was taking one step away from him.

"I left so quickly because I didn't want to face my own stupidity," Nino says after a moment, still not looking at Aiba but returning to the present moment. "It's just a stupid cross-talk for a stupid magazine, the same stupid thing we've all done a stupid million times before. Sho did a stupid one with Yokoyama and I've done a stupid one with Nishikido, it's just stupid and nothing you say means a stupid thing." The word 'stupid' starts to sound strange in his mouth, bitter and his face twists as he grips tighter into his injured shoulder, either from the words or the shooting pain but he can't quite tell.

Aiba doesn't say anything, but Nino refuses to look up, because he knows the expression on Aiba's face without even looking at it. It says 'you're an idiot, Nino,' and 'you should tell him how you feel,' with a little side of 'why do you do this to yourself?' and he doesn't need to hear it. He's heard it before, rattling in his own head for years, seen the words written on his own face in the mirror sometimes, and today he heard them shouted back to him through the words of a precocious little kouhai in a magazine. His only defense is ignoring it until it goes away - or at least until it's squashed down far enough that he can't hear it anymore - and so he'd escaped into baseball today. Usually, going a few rounds with a particularly nasty boss and beating the shit out of him would usually do the trick, but today he felt the tension in his shoulders, the pins and needles in his fingers, the clench of his jaw that meant this was a frustration that would only be solved with physical activity.

And there is nothing more satisfying than hitting a baseball with his full strength.

"Why did he have to talk about his eyelashes?" Nino practically sighs the rhetorical question, his fingers digging into his shoulder so hard his fingernails will leave marks. Aiba still doesn't say anything, just closes the space between them again and wraps his long arms aroud Nino's slight shoulders and pulls him into a hug. Nino wants to be annoyed, wants to shrug off Aiba's comfort, but he doesn't have the energy. His mind is stuck in an image loop of Ohno gazing into Chinen's little eyes, counting the long eyelashes as the younger boy fidgets nervously and it makes Nino sick to his stomach with how sweet it all is.

"Leader was worried about you, too. He blames himself for making you upset." Aiba's voice is soft but his words come through loud and clear, breaking through Nino's self-destructive imagination. Nino might not want to cause Ohno any undue concern, but he can't help loving the fact that Ohno's worried about _him_. The flip side, though, shows once again that Ohno has always known about Nino's feelings for him. Which, in everyone else's mind, seems to point to Nino making a complete fool of himself and confessing, but Nino's never been one for voluntarily making a fool of himself.

"You really should talk to him, Nino." It would have been more clairvoyant of Aiba if Nino wasn't already sure the other boy had learned to read his mind years ago. The words are familiar, the tone and the meaning carried behind them, and it makes Nino bristle again. He straightens his spine, making the embrace more awkward, and he still doesn't look at Aiba as he shakes his head almost imperceptibly.

It's not that Nino doesn't want to confess his feelings - he's thought about doing so, many times. His imagination is cruel, though, and takes his daydreams and twists them darkly so that nothing ever goes right. In his mind, he's confessed in the most romantic ways - flowers, chocolates, twilights, white-sand beaches, lush hotel rooms, fancy restaurants - but no matter how well his sub-conscious plans it, it never goes according to plan. He's had everything thrown at him - drinks, roses, sand, cutlery and insults - and not even in his wildest dreams (there was one time which involved a strip club and five shots of tequila) did it ever work out.

The first, last and only time he imagined something better marked the beginning of his painful adventure in unrequited love. He'd dreamed the moment, asleep in a hotel room far from home and anything familiar, a hotel room he was sharing with Ohno. It had been the most vivid dream he'd ever had: it was set in the same room with the same clothes on the floor, the same television in the same place, but the sleeping arrangements had changed. Sleeping in the same bed, Ohno's limbs pressed warm and comfortable against his own, Nino's confession was simple. He sighed a quiet "I've always loved you, Satoshi," felt the quirk of a smile where Ohno's lips pressed against the back of his neck, and heard the words echoed back to him, just before the dream was broken with a wakeup call. Sometimes, Nino hears the words ghost over his ear when he wakes in the morning, but it's always gone in a heartbeat.

"I know I should. But I won't," Nino mumbles, taking a deep breath before he looks over at Aiba. Sure, his heart feels like it's been pulled forcibly from his chest and stomped all over by a singing, dancing twelve year old wearing his mother's heels, but it's not the worst thing that's ever happened to him and he'll get over it. He has before, so he will again. He shrugs, attempting a smile, before taking his hand off his shoulder finally. "Come on, my arm is busted and I couldn't swing a bat even if I wanted to. You're taking me for those drinks. Lots of them."

\---

Aiba isn't the best person to go drinking alone with, and Nino knew that when he made the suggestion. It isn't that Aiba's a bad drunk, just that he's the same with drinking as he is with all other things in life - enthusiastic. So unless there are other people around him willing to rein him in, he and those around him will end up giggling, stumbling drunk and singing in the back of a taxi by two in the morning. Which is exactly what happens with Nino on this particular evening, their voices loud and off-key as they try to hold each other up even though they're sitting down.

Unsurprisingly, the heady mix of alcohol and a giggling Aiba does wonders for Nino's mood. The alcohol eases the pain - both in his shoulder and in his mind - and Aiba's giggles and endless jokes and anecdotes brightens his mood, leaving him feeling practically weightless as he floats through the rest of the evening, even as he stumbles out of the taxi and into Aiba. The night is dark and it rained while they were in the bar, leaving the ground wet and sparkling and Nino thinks it makes their laughter tinkle against the concrete as they hold onto each other, struggling to stay upright.

"You know what, Ma-chan?" Nino asks, dragging the syllables out, giggling as he realizes he must be drunk to be calling Aiba 'Ma-chan'. Aiba just shakes his head a little too enthusiastically, and they nearly fall into the front gate of Aiba's apartment complex. "Maybe I will tell Leader how I feel," Nino says simply, watching as Aiba fiddles with his keys. The words bubble out of him and he's sort of surprised to hear them himself, but they're comfortable in his mouth and it doesn't bring down the mood, so he sticks with it.

"That's a good idea, Kazu," Aiba says, though his sentence trails off in a giggle as he gets the gate open and they stumble along the path. "I think you should call him right now. I mean, not right now, we have to focus on walking right now -" Aiba stumbles on the first step he comes across and Nino giggles, fingernails digging into the taller, heavier man's arm tightly, "- but once we get into the house. I'm going to pass out straight away, so you'll have your privacy."

"No," Nino says in such a serious tone that Aiba looks over at him, perplexed until Nino's face breaks into another giggle at being so serious about what he was trying to say. "First, we're both going to have two large glasses of water. Then, you can pass out, and I will get out my phone and... think about... calling Leader and telling him I'm disgustingly in love with him." The thought still isn't making Nino's stomach flip or his heart drop through his stomach, so he stops wondering when his brain is going to kick in and helps Aiba pick up his keys instead ( _"Ka-zu-chan, you're closer to the grounnnnnnd"_ ), stumbling into the apartment the next moment.

As promised, the first thing they do after taking their shoes off is have a dangerous race to the kitchen and bolt down two of Aiba's biggest glasses full of water from the tap. It's a pretty stupid idea, Nino considers as he slams the glass on the kitchen bench for the second time, his stomach squelching and squirming with all the extra liquid, and from the expression on Aiba's face, he agrees.

"Um..." Aiba begins, his face contorting in a such a funny way that Nino giggles despite the sloshing in his stomach it causes. "I'm going to go keep the toilet company for a while. Check on me when you get off the phone, okay?" Nino knows that Aiba isn't going to throw up (he just likes to fall asleep on the cool bathroom tiles when he's too overheated from drinking all night), so he just pats Aiba on the back as he zig-zags a path down the hallway to the bathroom.

Nino wanders into the living room, his path more like a wave than a zig-zag, and pulls his phone out of his pocket before collapsing into Aiba's sinfully comfortable couch. This is not, he mulls as he flips his phone open, the first time he's gotten drunk and decided he was going to spill the beans. He's been close before, but something always interrupts him - the song at karaoke changing, someone entering the room, freak thunderstorms - so he's taken it as a sign from some omnipotent being that this was not meant to happen. So he's hesitant in a lazy, comfortable sort of way that only someone who has a night of drinking behind him can be, staring at his phone as he scrolls through the contacts and comes to rest on Ohno's name.

Then the phone rings.

Nino just giggles as the phone vibrates in his hand, feeling the little waves pulse through his palm and through to his fingertips and the sensation makes him shiver, which just makes him giggle again, before the name on the caller ID actually registers. _Satoshi_ , the phone blinks at him simply, and Nino's eyes go comically wide and he actually gasps before he remembers which button to press to answer the phone.

"Sato- uh, I mean, Lea- wait, Cap- no, Ohno. Ohno-kun. -chan. -kun. Ohno-kun, hello!" Nino's pretty sure he's never taken addressing someone so seriously in his entire life, and a giggle slips out though he catches it a moment later. On the other end, Nino can hear Ohno's stifled laugh as well, which makes him grin and bite the inside of his mouth. "What's up?"

"Oh," Ohno says, sounding as though he's forgotten that he was the one who had called Nino. "Ah, well... Sho-kun took me out tonight. Drinking." Nino almost giggles at the image; Sho and Ohno are the lightweights of their group, and it's a miracle if either of them makes it past three drinks before nodding off. "And he told me to tell you... that I'm sorry. I mean, not that I didn't want to say sorry as well, just that he told me it was okay to say it. You know, because of how the interview with, um, Chinen went. ... I mean, Sho wrote something down to say that was much better than that, but I lost the napkin he wrote it on. Just... I saw that it upset you, and I didn't want that to happen. I mean... I know you know it's just work, but you...." The sentiment trails off with some unintelligible mumbling, and Nino can't help grinning to himself.

"I know, I know. I'm a sensitive idiot. I have to work on that," he says, and he is completely aware of the fact that it's the alcohol preventing him from any and all sulking activities he would usually be engaged in.

Ohno laughs at the statement and is quiet for a long time. It's not awkward, just comfortable, and after a while Nino wonders whether Ohno has given in to an alcohol-induced nap (it wouldn't be the first time), but he's proven wrong a moment later as Ohno makes a noise as though he's about to speak. It's a hesitant sort of noise, and Nino's heard it before: it comes right before he's going to say something he knows might get a bad response, and some dull nerves start pricking at the edge of Nino's consciousness. He adjusts the way he's sitting and just waits for Ohno to spit it out.

"Well, I like you," Ohno says, and Nino blinks a few times, sure he's misheard somehow. Maybe his current brand of drunk comes with hallucinations - hearing things that aren't really being said - because surely Ohno isn't confessing right now. "And I know you like me." It's harder to write off when Ohno follows it up without hesitating. He just pauses between each statement, the same sort of pause he'd make between saying he was hungry and what he would like to eat, and his words are certain, even if Nino's not certain he's hearing correctly.

"Well, I -" but Nino doesn't get a chance to figure out if he was going to protest or agree, because Ohno cuts him off.

"So I think we should do something about it. Because... well, otherwise you'll be miserable every time I do an interview with a kouhai. And I like you too much to make you miserable. So I guess... I don't know. What do you think?" If Nino wasn't so surprised, he probably would have scoffed at the question. Everything is making his mind reel - this wasn't how this night was meant to go, and neither was this how he had ever envisioned a confession. Mostly because he'd always assumed he would be the one to make the confession, not Ohno.

"Um," Nino says after a moment, once he's remembered to breathe and blink and all of those essential things. Unfortunately, he has less control over his mind spinning and he presses his free hand to his temple as though it might help to hold his thoughts in. "Yes." He realizes a moment later that his answer doesn't actually relate to Ohno's question, and he stumbles over his words as he looks for a response. "I mean, yes as in... well, I mean, I - so, obviously, I mean, you knew... that I like you, so you know I'm not going to say 'no' or anything. You're.... I mean, this is a surprise! But not an unwelcome one. I actually... well, Aiba took me out tonight, as well, and I was about to call you when you called me." Nino doesn't finish his story because his tongue is betraying him and not doing anything he wants it to.

"Really?" Ohno sounds surprised, but at the same time a little apologetic. "I didn't mean to steal your confession. You can say it now if you want."

Nino laughs at that, the noise exploding from him and it's definitely a laugh this time - it comes straight from his belly and courses through him, taking with it all the residual nervous tension in his body. He knows laughter is meant to be the best medicine (Aiba tells him so constantly, and proves it by being the healthiest of them), but now he might believe it. The laugh trails off and he feels weights lifting from his shoulders, his mind heady with a sort of clarity that shouldn't be possible given the alcohol in his bloodstream. "I think the moment has passed," he says after a moment, grinning to himself.

Ohno makes a disappointed noise in the back of his throat but doesn't say anything more about it. Instead, he says, "Sho also said I should take you out on a date, but I couldn't think of anything."

The revelation doesn't surprise Nino in the slightest, and he smiles gently as he settles back into the cushions behind him. "If I were at home right now, I'd know _exactly_ what I'd suggest we do," he says, words laden with innuendo before he cuts through the moment with a frustrated groan. "But unfortunately, we're completely cockblocked."

"Tomorrow morning," Ohno says after a slightly pregnant pause (in which Nino tries not to misinterpret the rustling noise of Ohno shifting in his spot). "I'll come pick you up and we'll nurse hangovers together."

"How romantic," Nino says, completely devoid of the sarcasm that would usually accompany his words. He doesn't have the energy for sardonic remarks, and anyway the words come straight from his heart. Romance might traditionally mean flowers and chocolates and walks on the beach at twilight, but neither he nor Ohno is that sort of romantic, and he can't imagine anything more perfect than being curled up with Ohno at the back of a cafe somewhere, sharing a plate of greasy food and strong coffee kisses. Nino's smile slides into a grin and he closes his eyes, letting the scene play out behind his eyelids.

"Great," Ohno says around a yawn, waking Nino from his reverie but not breaking his smile. "I'll pick you up from Aiba's... whenever I wake up. Now, go take care of him. Make sure he doesn't fall asleep on the bathroom floor again."

Nino laughs, mostly because it's the most Leader-like thing Ohno has done that week, but also because he realizes he didn't even have to tell Ohno where he was staying once he revealed that he had been out with Aiba. It's not something that would usually catch his attention, but he had always thought that a confession would change everything. Of course things _had_ changed, in ways neither of them was able to understand yet, but the knowledge that nothing is different makes Nino grin just a little more. They're still the same two people, with the same shared history and the same friends, and that thought settles comfortably in the pit of Nino's stomach.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he gets into bed," Nino reassures Ohno lightly. "See you tomorrow, Satoshi." The name slips from his mouth involuntarily, and it makes his heart skip a beat. It's not the first time he's used the name, of course, but the sentiment behind it is completely different and makes him grin all over again.

"Goodnight, Kazunari." Nino is relieved when Ohno hangs up without waiting for anything else, because he can't hold in what is definitely a squeal - even if he would never admit to it. He hangs up the phone and stares at it for a moment in wonder, as though he might still be having a very vivid dream, but he is relieved of the delusion when he clearly hears a wretch from the bathroom.

"If you're going to throw up, Aiba, make sure your head is over the toilet bowl this time!"

\---

Nino takes care of Aiba as he promised Ohno, which includes such fun tasks as: sitting with him while he wretches but doesn't actually vomit, talking to him about anything and nothing to keep him awake, pressing damp washcloths to his forehead and nape of his neck, getting him from the bathroom and into bed, helping him out of his clothes and letting Aiba spoon him as a sleeping aid. It would be annoying, except that it's nothing he hasn't done before, and it keeps his mind from going into overdrive thinking about the day ahead.

He wakes the next day to the sound of Aiba's doorbell. Aiba stirs but doesn't wake, releasing his grip on Nino's waist and rolling over onto his other side, leaving Nino free to leave the bed guilt-free. Despite having slept in his clothes, Nino feels no hangover symptoms until he opens the door to the living room and has to shut his eyes tightly against the sun streaming through the windows. The light ignites a headache the size of a baseball in the back of his head, leaving him to stumble blindly to the front door as quickly as he can for fear that the person on the other side (Ohno, he realizes he already knew once he gets to the entrance) might press the doorbell again.

Nino somehow makes it without breaking anything and squints very hard as he pulls the door open to reveal a very cool-looking Ohno. The only reason Ohno doesn't look as hungover as Nino is the sunglasses, Nino decides, and he just gives a small wave. "'Morning," he mumbles, gesturing for Ohno to come inside as though this is his apartment.

Ohno just nods and steps into the entrance way, toeing his shoes off and stepping into a free pair of slippers. Nino closes his eyes in relief from the sun as he leans against the wall, waiting for Ohno to finish with his footwear. The shuffling noises stop and Ohno mumbles, "I've been thinking about this all night." Nino doesn't process the words properly and tries to pry his eyes open again as though vision would help his hearing, but Ohno takes a step forward and makes it impossible to see anything as he leans in for a kiss. Nino's eyes slip closed again and his body relaxes against the wall, arms moving only to snake around Ohno's shoulders, his neck arching to tilt his head into the kiss.

The kiss is slow and easy, and everything Nino could expect from their first kiss: a little unexpected, but overwhelmingly warm and comfortable. It feels so right, as though they've been doing this for years instead of just dancing around it, and Nino can't help the quiet sigh that escapes his nose as he deepens the kiss in one movement, the exhalation punctuated with a soft moan at the back of his throat. Ohno responds in one fluid movement, one hand slipping around to Nino's back and pulling him closer as the other reaches to tilt Nino's head back, tongue sliding forward to tangle with Nino's. It's all so warm and comfortable that Nino's sure that if the kiss wasn't so arousing he would have been able to fall asleep in Ohno's arms easily.

Well, arousing kiss and the fact that Aiba trips over in the hallway and something makes a crashing noise, which makes Ohno pull away slowly. Nino makes a noise somewhere between a growl and a whine as he opens his eyes to look at the invading party, still squinting against the sunlight. Aiba, still dressed just in boxer shorts, stands and surveys the side table and its contents, both of which fell to the floor with him, blinking at the scene as though it would make more sense that way. Nino clears his throat, then, and Aiba looks over at him and Ohno, whose arm is still wound around Nino's waist.

"Oh! You two! Hi. Sorry. I just... water. I needed some water, and then I saw- so I tripped, and made this mess. But, wow! I mean, good! Good for both of you. Really. This should have happened years ag-"

"Aiba," Nino says in his best placating tone of voice - which at this particular moment sounds more like a curse than comfort - and opens his eyes just enough to look Aiba right in the eye. "Why don't you put some pants on and get us all some water and some breakfast?" He hopes to convey the idea that he should go a long way to find said breakfast and water, so that there could be more, extended kissing, but with the way Aiba still seems to be swaying on the spot he can't quite be sure.

Aiba blinks a few times as though trying to decipher the scene, and then nods once. "Got it."

He disappears into the bedroom for a moment (just long enough for Ohno to start pressing kisses along Nino's jaw line) and then reappears in something resembling clothing, wallet in one hand and keys in the other. "Don't make a mess!" he chirps as he passes the two of them, stepping into flip-flops and bustling out of the door. Which is a bit hypocritical, Nino reflects as he glances at the overturned side table before he closes them against the onslaught to his jaw.

"Let's get out of this light," he mumbles a moment later, though it takes him a second to convince his body to disengage Ohno's and slip away. He tangles his fingers with Ohno's as he navigates around the fallen side table to Aiba's bedroom and can't shake the feeling that he's walking through a dream. It's not a dream he ever entertained would come true, but it's all unfolding before him in the most surreal way.

Of course, that might just be the hangover, which alleviates slightly once they are ensconced in the warm darkness of Aiba's bedroom. Nino opens his eyes again, now that he is able to without squinting, and looks around, quickly realizing that Aiba's bedroom is even less romantic than a hangover breakfast. He wrinkles his nose as he turns back to Ohno, who doesn't look the least bit concerned about the mess as he slides his sunglasses up to rest on top of his head. Ohno smiles lazily as he takes a step closer, making the annoyance melt away and Nino turns his lips in a matching smile, but the kiss that Nino expects doesn't come. Ohno pauses, looking torn, and chews his bottom lip for a moment before saying anything.

"Should we... talk, or something?" He says, his brow furrowed with such concern that Nino has to fight the urge to laugh.

"What would you like to talk about?" Nino asks, deliberately obstinate because he knows that Ohno is only worried that he's missing a crucial step before going any further. Nino sees the logic - you don't just jump into the middle of a relationship with someone without setting and learning boundaries - but it doesn't apply. They've known each other for too long to have boundaries anymore, and the ones they haven't pushed will be easy enough to navigate. They don't need to talk to validate what they have and what they're pursuing; it's natural and easy and... well, Nino has been waiting a little too long for this to let words get in the way. He pushes his point a little further after a pause, fingers moving to slide around Ohno's waist as he takes another step to close the space between them.

Ohno looks as though he has forgotten the question for a second, blinking slowly and Nino can practically _feel_ Ohno's eyes tracing his smirk, before he shrugs lightly, one hand reaching up to play with the short strands of hair at the back of Nino's neck. "Nothing, I guess," he mumbles before leaning in to press a soft, warm kiss to Nino's lips.

It's probably cause for concern, Nino considers as he leans into the kiss, his body now flush up against Ohno's, that everything is coming so easily. It's crazy, unbelievable, and a little bit ridiculous to believe that there isn't even a hiccup to the transition from friends and band mates to romantic entanglements, but there doesn't seem to be much point in creating problems where there aren't any. So he gives in, and there is no effort involved in deepening the kiss, one hand shifting to rest at the back of Ohno's neck, massaging his fingertips into the soft, familiar skin he has always taken advantage of being able to touch.

This touch is different, though, and Nino feels it through the dreamlike haze his hangover gives the moment, the heat of his touch as he lets his fingers dip beneath the collar of Ohno's shirt. His fingers tingle as they mix with skin and hair and clothes, just as Ohno's fingers burn a trail as they sneak beneath his shirt and trace lazy circles over the ridges of his spine, and it's almost too much to take. Nino can feel his skin practically buzzing with all the attention, the knowledge that it's Ohno - _Ohno_ , the one person he's always wanted to touch him this way - escalating the moment and it sends shivers through his body. He gasps, quietly, when he feels a rapidly hardening cock press against his thigh through layers of material, but the noise is amplified in the middle of the kiss, and he takes the interruption as an opportunity.

Nino doesn't say anything, though, just smirks as he pulls away from the kiss and backs off from the contact even though he's pretty sure it's the most difficult two steps he's had to take in his entire life, tugging Ohno with him by the collar of his shirt. He stops when the backs of his legs hit the bed and then sinks, instantly, his fingers sliding to Ohno's waist to fiddle with his belt. Ohno takes the change and movement in stride, fingers following Nino's face and tucking stray strands of hair behind his ear, and Nino can't help but smile and look up at the other man as he starts work on the button and zipper. "Just let me know if I'm doing something wrong," he says, but the way Ohno smiles and shuffles just a little closer suggests that there is nothing wrong with what he is doing.

It's lucky, Nino considers as he slides the zipper down and hooks his thumbs into Ohno's underwear, that this is not his first time with another man, because the nerves flickering around the edge of his consciousness are already too distracting. They feel like first-time nerves, and it's embarrassing how he fumbles as he tugs the boxers and jeans down Ohno's thighs, freeing the erection trapped beneath the material. He blames the way Ohno's fingers play gently in his hair, distractingly tender and warm, but he manages to ignore it enough to lean in and press his lips lightly to the inside of Ohno's thigh.

Ohno's skin is so pale and soft between his legs, Nino wants to drink it in. He presses his nose to the spot he just kissed, breathing in the warm scent of skin rarely touched, before trailing his mouth along the inside of Ohno's thigh - teeth and tongue and lips along the way. He avoids touching Ohno's cock altogether, though, and closes his eyes as Ohno makes quiet noises in the back of his throat, something between moans and mewls. Nino smiles between kisses as Ohno's fingers begin to tighten in his hair as his lips travel higher, practically scratching at his scalp when he reaches the junction between leg and torso. He pushes back against the pressure, though, angling for some control as he runs his hands up over Ohno's thighs and holds onto his hips, pausing a moment to look up at Ohno before continuing.

Ohno's eyes are lidded heavily, but Nino can see that he's still watching. The teasing kisses have quickened Ohno's heart rate and a tell-tale vein throbs visibly in his neck, flush rising from beneath the collar of his shirt, and Nino can't feel anything but proud. He smirks, mostly for himself but also for Ohno's sake, the quirk of his lips remaining even as his eyes dart away and he leans in and swipes his tongue, flat and wet across the underside of Ohno's erection from root to tip. Ohno shudders and shifts forward again, his fingers slipping to take hold of Nino's shoulders just to steady himself, gasping for air as Nino turns his attention to the head of Ohno's cock. He swirls his tongue around it at first before wrapping his lips around the sensitive skin, suckling gently as one hand moves to cover the base of Ohno's erection in a firm but gentle grip.

Nino knows what he's doing must be maddening - it's maddening enough for him, and he can feel his own erection straining against his jeans - but he isn't doing it for the sake of unraveling Ohno entirely. That's just a happy side-effect. He's taking his time, drawing each movement out, teasing and testing with every touch, because he wants to make the moment last, to burn it into his own memory as well as Ohno's, because as much as he can still feel the wings of proverbial butterflies beating against his stomach, he knows that first times are the most important. And he is not going to fuck it up.

He doesn't, of course, because he's had plenty of practice, and it doesn't take much more coaxing for the noises at the back of Ohno's throat to become pleas of desperation as Nino takes him in fully, moans around his mouthful as he plays lightly with Ohno's balls. "Please, Nino, I-" but Ohno cuts himself off, opting to find some way of steadying himself as his knees begin to crumple beneath him. Nino withdraws, slowly, easing away from the contact because as teasing as it might seem, it's better than the stark feeling of absence that is the alternative, and looks up at Ohno, hands moving back to his hips to hold him steady.

"Do you want more?" Nino asks, and he realizes how unfair the question is when he asks it with swollen, red lips, but what strikes him as even more unfair is the fact that he is still fully dressed, his own erection untouched and trapped beneath too many layers of clothes. So what if he tilts his head just so and quirks his lips in his most inviting smile; Ohno isn't about to say no, anyway. And he doesn't say no. In fact, he all but falls over himself to say yes, nodding and mumbling incoherent words, his fingers digging into Nino's shoulders to keep himself upright.

Nino flashes a grin and nods towards the bedside table. "Top drawer, behind the big breasts porn," he says, and Ohno does a double-take as he seems to remember that this is Aiba's bedroom. Nino almost laughs, but instead he stands, reaching to divest Ohno of his shirt. "It's Aiba," he shrugs, moving to take off his own clothes, "he tells me everything." This is enough to pacify Ohno (because he knows it's true), who shuffles the rest of the way out of his jeans before moving to the bedside table, while Nino strips out of his clothes and slides onto the bed.

It probably should have been awkward, Nino thinks as he sit back against the headboard, watching Ohno riffle through Aiba's bedside table, but it isn't. It's just easy, and he isn't about to over-think it. Not when Ohno finds what he was looking for, a triumphant noise in the back of his throat before he turns back to Nino with a grin, crawling across the rumpled sheets with an almost predatory look in his eyes. "My turn," Ohno says in a low tone as he approaches, reaching out to tug Nino in for a demanding kiss, tongue plundering his mouth and drawing a contented noise from Nino's throat.

It's not long before the kiss turns hotter, so much that Nino needs to pull back to breathe, but the gasp he draws in a moment later isn't from lack of oxygen but the way Ohno's fingers wrap none too lightly around his as-yet untouched cock. Nino moans without meaning to, his eyes closing and rolling back in their sockets as he scrambles in the sheets to gain some footing. The shock of contact shoots straight to his spine and he has to press his fingers over Ohno's wrist to stop him doing anything more. Ohno is touching on years of pent-up frustrations and fantasies, quite literally, and it might be embarrassing but Nino knows that he won't last if Ohno starts touching him. He shakes his head and pushes Ohno's hand away from him, a slightly sheepish smirk on his lips. "Only when you want this over with," he warns, saving the moment with a kiss.

Nino lets his hands wander as the kiss intensifies, grabbing onto Ohno's hips and tugging him closer. The nervous tension bubbles to the surface again, his fingers slipping over skin as he reaches between Ohno's legs and curls his hand once more around his hard cock, giving it a gentle tug as he sucks Ohno's lower lip between his teeth. "Now, fuck me already," he mumbles into the kiss, and he realizes belatedly that he hadn't really meant to take control, just that his nerves would have rendered him useless otherwise.

Ohno makes a noise into the kiss not unlike a moan, making it clear that Nino needn't worry about giving directions. He pulls away from the kiss, then, his hands over Nino's hips and tugging him down onto the bed so that he's lying on his back, the next moment moving in to press his lips to Nino's neck, sucking a trail of little kisses down to his collarbone, while his hands search for the previously procured items. Nino closes his eyes at the sensations, shifting his hips as he feels a shiver of nervous excitement thrill through him, the sounds of latex against skin and tubes snapping shut far more arousing than they have any right to be.

Ohno's hands follow next, one trailing gently along Nino's thigh to start with, fingertips splayed as his hand ducks around to hitch up Nino's legs. Nino obliges without protesting, bringing both knees up and parting his legs wider, offering himself to Ohno without hesitation. He can't help but open his eyes as he feels the weight on the bed move, Ohno's hand pressed against his hipbone as he shifts closer, and Nino watches as much as he feels Ohno's finger, slick with lube and hot to the touch, trace an infuriating path from the ridge of his pelvic bone, skimming below his balls, along the short distance of skin before he reaches his opening.

Nino can't help the buck of his hips, tempered by Ohno's grip on one side, and the quick intake of air as Ohno smiles down at him and strokes once more, teasingly, across the sensitive nerve endings. He moans, the noise itself a plea, and Ohno understands and complies without even saying anything, running his tongue along his lower lip at the same slow pace as he slides his finger past the ring of muscle. Nino thinks he sees stars, transposed on top of the image of Ohno's reverent, carefully concentrating expression, and he forgets to breathe for a moment, reminded only when Ohno leans in to press a kiss to the side of his mouth. He pants hard, then, fingers extracting themselves from the sheets beneath him to grab onto Ohno above him as though it might keep him from falling, and he keeps his eyes open wide, staring at the ceiling as Ohno stretches him slowly, gently, his kisses trailing along his jaw.

Their bodies are close and Nino can feel the heat radiating off of Ohno's skin, heating his own and he finds it difficult to calm down with all the nervous tension rushing through his body, even as Ohno is expertly preparing and loosening him. Nino's skin feels as though it's on fire, flaring up as Ohno pushes in another finger, covering his mouth with a kiss just in time to catch the gasp. "Relax," Ohno murmurs into the kiss, his free hand easing off of Nino's hip and wandering over his stomach, tracing his ribs lightly before splaying over his chest as he pulls away from the kiss.

Nino lets out a shuddering breath, his eyes closing for a moment as he rolls his hips down into the contact with Ohno's fingers as he begins to scissor them gently inside him. The action is delicious in its slow pace, and Nino manages to relax as his hips are allowed the freedom to move with the contact, his breathing steadying save for a brief hitch as Ohno slips a third finger inside him. It stings a little, and Nino whimpers because he knows that it's just a taste of what's to come, but it feels hollow and inferior. He rolls his hips down into the contact, another whimper mixed with a moan because it's not enough, and he rakes his fingernails down Ohno's chest as he looks purposefully up into Ohno's eyes. He nods, just the slightest inclination of his head, and doesn't have to say anything because Ohno just grins and leans in for another kiss as he removes his fingers one by one.

The empty feeling left in their wake doesn't last long, though, as Ohno slicks himself and presses slowly into Nino, one hand sliding around him to press firmly to his lower back, tugging him closer as he pushes in. Nino's breath catches in his throat, the shards of pain cutting through his consciousness and making the sensations sharper, more real and Nino can't - doesn't want to - close his eyes, watching carefully as Ohno's jaw slackens with every movement forward, his eyes closed tightly in restraint as much as pleasure. The fingers over Nino's hip squeeze tight as Ohno rushes the last inch, and they both finally remember to breathe once he settles, buried deep inside Nino, their chests rising and falling quickly but in unison.

They don't say anything, communicating solely through touch: Nino exhales and presses his fingers to the inside of Ohno's elbow, shifting his hips back just slightly as encouragement, while Ohno swallows and runs his hand down from the small of Nino's back to curve over his ass, grip firm as he moves his own hips back slowly, almost reluctantly. They breathe in time with their movements, deep and slow to begin with, inhales and exhales interspersed with kisses, before everything becomes a little frantic. Ohno's thrusts get faster, so Nino's breathing shallows and he's left gasping for air as he hooks his legs around Ohno's back, hips rolling into the motion as he holds onto the back of Ohno's neck.

He doesn't need to say it, but Nino knows when Ohno's getting closer to the edge of an orgasm; his eyes close and his thrusts become harder, more careless, and Nino wonders vaguely if he should remind Ohno that now would be just about the right time to start touching him. Ohno doesn't need reminding, though, and the timing of his touch makes Nino wonder if he hadn't been thinking about it the whole time. Ohno slides his fingers over Nino's thigh, the slow touch the only steady, controlled movement amongst the chaos of limbs and hips and heat, pacing himself by curving up over Nino's hips, trailing fingertips over his lower abdomen, before dragging his palm teasingly over the head of his weeping, neglected cock.

Nino chokes back a cry at the sensation, biting down on his lip as Ohno follows it up by wrapping his fingers around his cock, the touch warm and slippery from pre-come, and he has to force himself to breathe as Ohno begins to move his hand in time with his thrusts. Breathing but completely incoherent and unable to control his movements, Nino's hips falter as Ohno's thumb passes over the head of his cock on a downstroke, causing Ohno's thrusts to come in at a new angle, and each new sensation in quick succession sends Nino tripping, stumbling towards his orgasm, thrown over the edge entirely as Ohno leans in for a searing kiss.

Nino loses the next few moments, his orgasm coursing through him so violently that he can't see, let alone hear or feel anything else, but by the time he comes to, Ohno is lying sated beside him, breathing so hard it tickles over Nino's shoulder. Every inch of Nino is sensitive, though, and the light breath sends a shiver through his body, which makes Ohno smile sleepily at him, reaching over to push a few strands of his hair out from his eyes.

"That was the best hangover cure ever," Ohno says simply, and Nino can't help the laugh that bubbles up from inside. He laughs because not only does Ohno speak the truth, but it's obvious that nothing more needs to be said. They've jumped the only hurdle there was keeping them from falling into their changed relationship, and passed with flying colors. There are other things, of course, big things and little things, but they've got all the time in the world to work through them. For now, their path is clear and even and set, and the thought makes Nino giddy as he looks over at Ohno.

"I call not telling Aiba why his sheets are dirty."

\---

They emerge from Aiba's bedroom later, after taking a lengthy, exploratory shower in the ensuite and getting back into their clothes, only to find Aiba sitting on the opposite side of the hallway, digging into a bag of peanuts as he flips through a magazine. He notices them instantly, though, looking up and scrambling to his feet, the grin on his face brighter than it should have been for the one out of the three of them who hadn't just gotten laid. Nino almost laughs at him, but decides against it seeing as if it weren't for Aiba getting him drunk last night, he would probably still be hitting pitches at the batting cages in frustration.

"Enjoy yourselves?" Aiba prods, grin still in place as he half-leads them to the kitchen. On the breakfast bar is three table settings - one decidedly used, the others piled with fruit and accompanied with a glass of milk. Ohno can't help but stare at Aiba for a moment, but Nino just rolls his eyes, taking a spot and popping a grape into his mouth. This is not, unfortunately, the first time that Aiba has celebrated Nino having sex, though if Nino had to pick one time to celebrate, he supposes it would be this.

"Immensely," he says dryly, watching with a quiet smile as Ohno looks from the plates of food to Aiba and then finally to him as though wondering what all the fruit is about. Nino's smile grows as he nods towards the seat in a gesture for Ohno to sit, rolling a grape over the tip of his tongue before tucking it into the side of his mouth and biting down. "It's Aiba," he says in explanation as Aiba bustles around the kitchen making coffee, "he likes to share in people's happiness."

Ohno nods, the explanation enough for him (because it's Aiba, and that makes almost anything make sense), and he settles down into the seat across from Nino, picking up a slice of pineapple. "Why did you bring all this fruit, though?" he asks as Aiba returns with the coffee, taking a bite out of the fruit. Nino wishes Ohno hadn't asked that, because he knows the answer and Aiba starts to talk before Nino can cut him off.

"Well, I read somewhere that if you eat lots of fruit, it can change the taste of your man juice" - yes, Aiba did just say 'man juice', and Nino closes his eyes as though it will erase the word from his memory - "to make it sweeter. Especially that pineapple. So eat up!" Aiba's encouraging smile is just about the only thing keeping Nino from gagging him and locking him in a closet right about now. Ohno looks over at Nino the next moment, a smirk of his own curling the corners of his mouth as he takes another bite of the pineapple. Nino returns the expression, popping another grape in his mouth before he turns to Aiba.

He knows exactly what questions Aiba is going to ask, so to save everyone the time, he answers them before Aiba can get them out. "Before you ask, one: twice, once in bed and once in the shower. Two: it was absolutely mind-blowing. And three: yes, of course we were safe." Nino's not entirely sure why Aiba is under the impression he's willing to talk about his sex life, but... it's Aiba, and somehow he always gets the answers to at least those three questions.

"And it wasn't awkward?" Aiba pushes, one special question for this particular time, looking right at Nino. Nino knows why he's asking (Aiba once kissed Sho with a little too much feeling behind it and Sho didn't speak to him for a week), so he just smiles affectionately at him before reaching over to swat at his head.

"Does it look awkward?" Nino asks, nudging Aiba with the back of his hand as he retreats, the smile still on his face. Aiba's not stupid, he's just not thinking, and Nino can see the thoughts clouding his mind clear as he looks between the two of them and grins, a quick shake of his head.

Ohno laughs, because he can see the same thing (Aiba only told Nino, but Sho told Ohno), and takes a piece of watermelon this time. "Don't worry, Aiba," he mumbles around a bite of fruit, a drop of juice rolling down his chin, "we're not going to mess anything up."

Aiba nods enthusiastically, sitting down at the place set for him and taking a handful of strawberries from Ohno's plate. "I know," Aiba says, grinning at Ohno for a moment before turning to Nino. "As long as you don't get jealous of Chinen again."

Nino scoffs and rolls his eyes at Aiba, even though they all know that's what happened. He looks over at Ohno, whose smile definitely says he isn't concerned about it, and then smirks a little, glancing back at Aiba. "Well, it turned out all right for me this time, didn't it?"

Aiba laughs, nodding as he bites through a strawberry. "That's true," he says with his mouth full and Nino looks over to check if anything fell out. "Okay, if you'll excuse me. I have some bet money to collect."


End file.
